The Underfunded Project Keeping the Web Secure

A security flaw affecting two-thirds of websites is a reminder that the Web relies on a poorly resourced open-source project.

April 8, 2014

Late yesterday we learned that a two-thirds of the world’s websites have a major security vulnerability that could be used to crack encrypted connections and steal user passwords or a company’s encryption keys. The news set system administrators for the estimated 117,000 servers affected (including at major companies like Yahoo) scrambling to roll out a fix. It is also leading some people to ponder why the widely-used software in which the critical bug was found doesn’t get better support.

The Heartbleed bug, as it is known, is a small flaw in a version of an open source package called OpenSSL. It’s used by Web servers to offer encrypted “TLS” connections that appear to users as a padlock and “HTTPS” prefix in a browser’s address bar and are used to protect online banking and other private communications.

There are alternatives to OpenSSL but it is by far the most widely used software for the job. Most websites use it to protect their data and that of their users. Yet the OpenSSL project is mostly run by volunteers. It relies on donations and unlike some other open source project has no corporate sponsors.

It’s impossible to say if more funding would have prevented the Heartbleed bug. But some security experts see the incident as a reminder that what is essentially a critical part of the Web’s infrastructure seems to lack appropriate support from those who rely on it.

Christopher Soghoian, a privacy researcher at the ACLU, suggests that government support might be appropriate:

The US gov spends billions on cybersecurity. Why isn’t any of that spent improving core software libs like OpenSSL, which we all depend on.

“The OpenSSL developers have a pretty amazing record considering the amount of use this library gets and the quantity of legacy cruft and the number of platforms (over eighty!) they have to support. Maybe in the midst of patching their servers, some of the big companies that use OpenSSL will think of tossing them some real no-strings-attached funding so they can keep doing their job.”

Others in the security industry argue that OpenSSL’s design has become outdated and a ground-up replacement is needed. Either way, the chaos – and hazards – created by the Heartbleed bug make a good case for Web companies or even governments to put up the funds to keep basic components of online security like OpenSSL secure.

Credit

I’m MIT Technology Review’s San Francisco bureau chief and enjoy a diverse diet of algorithms, Internet, and human-computer interaction with chips on the side. I lead our coverage of new ideas from Silicon Valley, whether they spring from tech… More giants, new startups, or academic labs.

My journey to the West Coast started in a small English market town and took in the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and five years writing and editing technology news coverage at New Scientist magazine.